Quote:
Originally Posted by ila
I think the citizens of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany (and yes I know Czechoslovakia and East Germany no longer exist as such) might have a case to show that there was intervention in their affairs. Those are just the countries where there was direct intervention that resulted in either a communist puppet government being installed or the country being absorbed into the Soviet Union. There are other formerly independent countries, such as Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, that had been part of the Russian empire and the Soviet Union until recently. Then there are other countries that have had a great influence exerted on them from the Soviet Union; Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Cuba, and many more from South America.
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Of course, you are correct about direct intervention in the countries you list, of the very sort your describe.
Just so we don't lose site of the unfortunate dual history of superpower aggression, the list of countries in which the United States has directly intervened is also long. Here is just a sample of military intervention:
1890, Argentina, troops sent to protect U.S. economic interests in Buenos Aires
1891, Chile, Marines deployed to clash with nationalist rebels
1891, Haiti, U.S. troops put down revolt on Navassa
1893- , Hawaii, U.S. navy and ground troops overthrow and annex an independent kingdom
1898-1910, Philippines, U.S. navy and ground troops seize the country from Spain and kill 600,000 filipinos
1898-1902, Cuba, U.S. navy and ground troops seize Cuba from Spain (and still hold a Naval base on Cuban soil)
1898, Puerto Rico, U.S. Navy and ground troops seize Puerto Rico from Spain (still a U.S. colony)
1898, Guam, same as Puerto Rico above
1903, Honduras, U.S. Marines intervene in popular revolution
1907, Nicaragua, U.S. troops deployed to set up "Dollar Diplomacy" protectorate
1916-1924, Dominican Republic, Marines land and begin 8-year occupation to protect U.S. economic interests
1918-1922, Russia, U.S. Navy lands ground troops five times to fight the Bolsheviks
1922-1927, China, U.S. Navy and ground troops deployed during nationalist revolt
1925, Panama, U.S. Marines suppress a general strike
1932, El Salvador, U.S. Navy warships sent during the Mart? revolt
1947-1949, Greece, U.S. command operation to direct the far right in a civil war
1948-1954, Philippines, CIA directs war agains the Huk rebellion
1950, Puerto Rico, U.S. commands curshing of independence rebellion in Ponce
1953, Iran, CIA overthrows democracy and installs the Shah
1954, Guatemala, CIA directs exile invasion after new government nationalizes lands owned by U.S. companies; issues nuclear threat and launches bombers
1958, Lebanon, U.S. Navy and marines occupy country to stop rebels
1960-1975, Vietnam -- need I say more
1963, Iraq, CIA organizes a coup that kills the president and brings the Ba'ath Party to power, which then brings Saddam Hussein back from exile to become head of the Secret Service
1965, Indonesia, CIA assists the army in a coup that results in 1 million Indonesians slaughtered
1965-1966, Dominican Republic, U.S. troops land during the election campaign; bombings by U.S. air force
1966-1967, Guatemala, U.S. Green Berets intervene against rebels
1973, Chile, CIA engineers/backs a coup that ousts a democratically elected president
1981-1990, Nicaragua, "Iran-Contra" affair
1983-1984, Grenada, U.S. troops land and invade four years after a popular revolution
1990-1991, Iraq, First Gulf War
1992-1994, Somalia, U.S. troops, U.S. Navy help lead "UN" occupation during a civil war, backing one faction in Mogadishu
Shall I continue?
My point, of course, is that there's no clear good guy / bad guy in the world when it comes to the Cold War and its aftermath.